The Journey Towards the True Christmas

By Archimandrite Makarios Tsimeris

The Spiritual Preparation of the Believer According to the Fathers of the Church in the Modern Era

For the Orthodox Church, Christmas is not a simple celebration of an emotional nature, but the mystery of the Incarnation of God the Word, the manifestation of God “in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). It is the event that restores man’s relationship with the Creator and renews the entire creation. Saint John of Damascus writes:

“The Uncontainable is contained, the Beginningless begins, the Beginningless begins through a Mother” (Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 3, 1).

The Incarnation, therefore, is the great miracle of God’s love, and our preparation for Christmas cannot be external, but heartfelt.

Saint Gregory the Decapolite in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Gregory was from the Isaurian Decapolis, the son of Sergios and Makaria, during the time of the impious iconoclasts. At the age of eight he began his education in the sacred writings. And when he finished these studies, he spent all his time in the churches. At the height of his adolescence, his parents began to prepare him for marriage. However, he secretly left, and because of the then prevailing heresy of the iconoclasts, he traveled from place to place, embracing the martyrs and treasuring for himself the benefit that arose from his encounter with them. Living with great restraint and difficult asceticism, he fought many attacks, even those of demons, which is why he emerged as a great miracle worker. Gregory also went to Asia and reached Byzantium, having the desire to achieve his martyric confession for Christ. From there he sailed to Rome, and after going around the entire West and astonishing many with the miracles and signs he performed, he returned to Byzantium. Then he proceeded to Olympus and climbed the mountain. And his body there was so dried up from asceticism that those who knew him recognized him only by his voice. So he descended from the mountain again and came to Thessaloniki. From there he went to Byzantium, where, after finding Symeon the Confessor and God-bearer imprisoned for the sake of the holy icons, he entreated him for a long time and venerated him, and reposed in peace, having previously healed many and various diseases of people.

Prologue in Sermons: November 20

 

The Sign of the Cross is a Fear for Evil Spirits

November 20*

(From the Life of Saint John Chrysostom)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, discussing the sign of the cross in his thirteenth catechetical sermon, says, among other things, that it is a fear for evil spirits. Is this true?

When Saint John Chrysostom became Patriarch of Constantinople and was once preaching, a demon shook a man possessed by demons in the church, cast him to the ground, and the demon began screaming in such a terrifying voice that everyone in the church was terrified. John ordered the man brought to him, made the sign of the honorable cross on him, and the demon immediately left him. 

Another incident: One of the demonic princes once appeared to the Holy Martyr Justina and tempted her with many words to enter into an unholy marriage. Justina, realizing who was speaking to her, reverently made the sign of the cross on her face without engaging in conversation with the devil, and the devil immediately vanished from her with great shame.

The Spiritual Journey of the Christmas Fast

By Bishop Maximos of Melitene

The Christmas fast opens before us as a mystagogical gate, inviting the soul to a deeper communion with the divine mystery of the Incarnation. During this period, man is called to awaken from the lethargy of everyday life and turn towards his inner purification. “Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

The preparation for the reception of the divine infant requires inner silence. The heart becomes a manger that welcomes the divine mystery, while the soul, like a snowy branch bending towards the earth, bows before the magnitude of the miracle. In the ecclesiastical tradition, fasting is not simply a dietary restriction, but a spiritual exercise that purifies the nous and elevates the soul.

During this period, the ecclesiastical hymn reminds us: “Christ is born, glorify Him; Christ from heaven, go to meet Him” (Christmas Katavasies). The anticipation of the divine birth transforms our inner world. The days roll by like grains of sand in an ancient hourglass, measuring the course towards the great feast.

November: Day 19: Teaching 2: Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph

November: Day 19: Teaching 2:
Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph
 
(The Christian Faith is an Invaluable Treasure)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we commemorate the Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph, Prince of India. Christianity in India was founded by the Apostle Thomas, who suffered martyrdom there. However, due to a shortage of teachers, Christianity in India began to weaken after Thomas, and then, through the efforts of kings, it was completely eradicated. King Abenner was especially zealous in persecuting Christian teachers, priests, and monks. Some Christians voluntarily submitted to martyrdom, others fled to the deserts, and some even fell away from the faith. 

The king had a son, Joasaph. He gathered his wise men and asked them what fate awaited his son. The wise men replied that Joasaph would be the most powerful of all kings. One of the wise men added, "I think he will accept the Christian faith, which you persecute." Abenner was saddened by this prediction and, to prevent its fulfillment, wanted to raise his son in complete seclusion, so that no thought of Christianity could penetrate him.